Zhuo Zifang said with shame, "Even the Son of Heaven of Great Liang personally came out of the city to meet you, yet she refused to see him, indicating she is determined not to return... Moreover, the Chess Saint harbors deep resentment towards your grandfather. I also heard that the Commander of the Northern King's Guard, the first female General Anbei of Great Liang, Yue Hongxiu, is also guarding the chess hall. She too..."
Liang Xiao chuckled, "These are not problems."
Zhuo Zifang shook his head.
"For now, let us first discuss important matters with the officials of Great Liang for the sake of the nation. As for Xiao Yun, since she is safe, there is no need to rush to find her. Let's think of a solution. For example, let Mr. Zuo disguise you, and you can sneak into the chess hall."
Liang Xiao fell silent.
He could hear that Zhuo Zifang was actually very disappointed and angry with Zhuo Yun.
However, he had not done anything sneaky like this in a long time. The last few times were in Jiangnan, tricking Zhuo Xun, He Qiushui, Gu Pingting, and Liu Feng...
Did he have to make a show of himself again?
But Zhuo Zifang was right. National affairs were important, and he had come to Great Liang prepared, with many things to discuss.
First, he had to obtain a formal commitment from Great Liang. Even if an alliance was not possible, at least an agreement of non-aggression.
Currently, the Guishuang Dynasty and the Peacock Dynasty ruled by the Tianri tribe were the main contradictions. Marching south to unify Great Liang was not the best strategy and could lead to being attacked from all sides.
The culture and geography of the Central Plains and its surrounding areas were similar to his homeland. However, south of the Yangtze River, at the very south, there was a vast Heng River flowing into the sea. South of the Heng River was a large expanse of land. This was a new continent that the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty only discovered after conquering and expanding its territory after its establishment.
But even if the Great Gan Kingdom and the Great Liang Kingdom were friendly, they had to consider what would happen after Mu Cheng.
What if the new emperor ascended the throne and tore up the alliance, taking advantage of the situation to lead troops across the river and invade Jiangnan? This was something they had to guard against.
At this time, an alliance became particularly important. If the Great Liang Kingdom betrayed them, the Great Gan Kingdom would have a legitimate reason to counterattack and take this opportunity to unify Great Liang.
Conversely, as it was now, Mu Cheng and Qin Feng were strongly advocating for friendship with the Great Gan Kingdom, and they had no excuse to march south to unify.
This was also the focus of Liang Xiao's trip. Before resolving border issues and finding the last treasure of the ancient Xiongnu king, he should not actively fall out with the Great Liang Kingdom.
"Marquis!"
At this moment, Yue Qingtian rushed over, his face filled with excitement, "So many common people have gathered outside, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the Marquis's demeanor, but they have all been stopped by the soldiers!"
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "Send someone to inform the people that the Marquis of Anguo thanks everyone for their kind regard, but he needs to have a detailed discussion with the Son of Heaven of Great Liang about important state affairs, and it is temporarily inconvenient to receive guests."
Liang Xiao was certainly not putting on airs. Having performed missions for many years, no one understood the importance of security better than him. He had personally dealt with more than ten drug lords, big and small.
Firstly, it was indeed inconvenient for him to receive too many people. Secondly, assassins might be mixed among these common people, and innocent people might even be injured. There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.
They were not in their own territory now, in the Great Gan. Without absolute certainty of safety, traveling incognito like characters in a soap opera, putting themselves and others in danger, was not advisable. Assassination was a common phenomenon, both in ancient and modern times.
Cao Mo's alliance was a case where Cao Mo held Duke Huan of Qi, one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period, hostage, and successfully forced him to return the land that Qi had occupied from Lu.
Zhang Liang, one of the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, even fashioned a heavy mace weighing dozens of pounds and hired a strong man to kill Qin Shi Huang, but he failed.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Fei Yi, the Prime Minister of Shu Han, was assassinated by Guo Xun (or Guo Xiu, according to another account), a surrendered general from Wei.
In modern times, there were the imaginative Kennedy and the overjoyed Abe...
There were countless such examples.
The Imperial Palace was close to the direction of the Honglu Temple, and the area outside was crowded.
Yue Qingtian came out and truthfully relayed Liang Xiao's words to the common people.
Although the common people were slightly disappointed, upon learning that Liang Xiao thanked them, they dispersed with smiles.
The assassins from the Huichun Sect, who were mixed among the common people, were also forced to leave and report back to their true leader, Iris.
Unexpectedly, Iris's eyes were as cold as ever, and she did not seem angry.
"I expected this. This person is cautious, and he can protect even those close to him with strict security, making it impossible to find an opening. Contact Yan Liu and we will make further plans."
As soon as Iris finished speaking, Yan Jun, who was wearing a veil beside her, said in anger, "The son of the Northern King of Great Liang! Back then, our sect almost captured the imperial city of Great Liang through internal and external cooperation, but it was Liang Anguo who stood up!!"
Upon hearing this, Iris sneered, "So Liang Anguo died tragically in Helan Mountain, wasn't that retribution? Liang Xiao will also face retribution sooner or later! The true gods of the Holy Religion will ultimately stand with our sect. Our clan's cavalry is gathering, and the Great Gan Kingdom will soon face enemies on both fronts and fall apart!"
In the northern border of the Great Gan, fifteen thousand troops had already gathered in Yanzhou.
Lu Changhe, who was guarding Liaodong, had returned to Yanzhou to defend. The defense of Liaodong was taken over again by General Zhendong, Nie Yuan.
At this time, Lu Changhe was on a platform reviewing troops, holding a sacred decree high.
"By the order of His Majesty, as conceived by Grand Marshal, Marquis of Anguo, Liang Xiao, and to be executed by the Commander of the Shadow Guard, Ding Wuyi, and this General, Lu Changhe, elite troops will be selected to form two ten-thousand-man Divine Archery Corps and two ten-thousand-man Heavy Cavalry Corps. In peacetime, the Divine Archery Corps will carry longbows and ride horses. During battle, they will charge and dismount to fight, while the Heavy Cavalry will charge with shields to cover them, in order to deal with foreign cavalry and facilitate breakthroughs!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers below became nervous.
A moment later, a hundred-man Heavy Cavalry unit and a hundred-man Mounted Archery unit entered the drill ground in formation as a demonstration.
Everyone stared intently.
One hundred heavy cavalrymen, their horses clad in steel armor, themselves in plate armor, holding heavy shields covered with steel on their left hands, long spears in their right hands, and with Zhuge repeating crossbows and a pile of crossbow bolts in their saddlebags.
One hundred mounted archers, each riding a horse clad in cotton armor and wearing a steel helmet, holding a longbow, with thirty-two arrows in their quivers, and three sealed quiver sets, a crossbow and crossbow bolts in their saddlebags. Their warhorses were all clad in specially made cotton armor, the inner protective layer of which was cast with steel using the "guan gang" method.
Two hundred people were insignificant in the northern drill ground of one hundred thousand.
But these two units, one in front and one behind, formed a combination, creating an unprecedentedly powerful military bearing.
Especially that unit of heavy cavalry, tall and imposing, giving people an unprecedented sense of oppression!
This was Liang Xiao's concept: heavy cavalry as the vanguard and cover, and agile archers as ranged damage dealers. This formed an integrated offense and defense, possessing far greater mobility than infantry. They did not need to form lines and wait for enemy cavalry charges; they had much greater initiative.
The long spears of those heavy cavalrymen had damascus steel spearheads, and the spear shafts were reinforced with steel plates. Measured in meters, the long spears could reach five meters in length. The front ten heavy cavalrymen had spears over six meters long!
In an instant, the camp erupted in earth-shattering cheers, with everyone requesting to participate in the assessment and strive to become a member of the Divine Archery Corps and the Heavy Cavalry Corps.
Lu Changhe could not help but smile, "The Heavy Cavalry must be of the Great Gan Iron Guard or Great Gan Town Guard level, otherwise they cannot carry the equipment. For the Mounted Archers, we should also try to select from the existing longbowmen."
Even so, countless soldiers declared, "Please give us a chance!!"
Back in the barracks, the officers who were initially in the dark also asked Lu Changhe, "Second General, for elites of this caliber, the cost of warhorses and weaponry alone must be at least two hundred taels, right?"
"Two hundred taels?" Lu Changhe was stunned, then burst into laughter, "Including the warhorses, the cost of a heavy cavalryman is four hundred taels, and that of a Mounted Archer is three hundred taels!"